* Smoky Sausage and Beans

I started this post with the pre-requisite "This Smoky Sausage and Beans.... yadayada" and got bored before the first punctuation mark. You can read the recipe then... maybe even cook it... to find out just how yummy it is, but it'll have to sell itself because today my legs feel like jelly  -which is far more important (and apparently affecting my ability to concentrate)...

... My legs feel like jelly because I walked a million miles yesterday in the pursuit of a Curly Wurly Thick Shake from The Terrace Cafe/Bar on Plymouth Hoe... and a packet of Cornish Clotted Cream Fudge from the Barbican.

After consuming both (and a panini - go me) within a one hour time slot I confess to feeling a little bit sick and a lot guilty. I hate feeling guilty about being indulgent - so I came home, knackered myself on the exercise bike then dragged my Boldest and her Bairn out for a bimble around the neighbourhood... then this morning I got on the exercise bike again.

In a minute I'm off out with Boldest, her Bairn and my Little Man for a stroll along the Cornish Coast from Lantic Bay to Polruan... where no doubt another panini awaits. I'm not sure I'll be able to stand upright by the end of the day.

If there's a fudge shop in Polruan I'm selling the bike when I get home.

* Hot Smoked Salmon Kedgeree Stir Fry

I LOVE Hot Smoked Salmon. I have a hard time not eating it straight out of the fridge, with only my fingers for garnish. You can't disguise the fact that you've just raided the fridge and helped yourself to a rather large flake of the stuff, because it's quite strong smelling in it's smokiness. So I leave the fridge foraging for when no one is home and the windows are wide open... and for when I've locked the cat in the garage. If I don't lock the cat in the garage he comes charging in through the cat flap at the first whiff - meowing "CHRISTMAS" at top volume.

This Hot Smoked Salmon Kedgeree Stir Fry was born of a want for kedgeree and pure unadulterated laziness. I can't be bothered to cook up a storm most mornings and I want my first meal of the day to take as little time as possible to prepare so that I can stuff my face in a leisurely fashion and enjoy a pint of coffee whilst I wake up... plus - I don't like egg white. Kedgeree usually involves egg of some description. Boiled, poached or fried depending on the person cooking it. I honestly wish I could stand the texture of egg white because I would love to try Eggs Benedict or Huevos Rancheros but after 44 years it just ain't gonna happen. So I tend to stir a whole beaten egg into my kedgeree as a substitute and it works better with the stir fry method than any other...

... and there's that whole need for speed thing...

* Sweet Lamb and Chickpea Casserole

I'm just going to leave this here... and pretend that I have been updating this blog on a regular basis over the past three years, that my food photography skills have vastly improved (hahahahahaaaa), that I totally planned this and didn't actually just take a random photo of my cooking and think "Dammit I'm never going to remember this recipe unless I write it down... where can I put it so that I don't lose it?"

Perhaps if I slope quietly off into the ether that is my life, I'll get away with it... Not that I'm expecting some sort of hidden fan base to suddenly arrive and start crying with joy - though maaan that would feed the ego somewhat (it has shrunk in recent years to size of a small barge - it no longer has it's own seat at the table and even gave up the spare bed at some point when I wasn't looking).

This Sweet Lamb and Chickpea Casserole is the most recent recipe I have converted to as low fat as I can handle in my never ending endeavour to drop a dress size. I've probably lost the same 10lbs a million times over in the past three years. I blame wine.. and the husband, of course.

Should you stumble back across my path after all this time and decide to give this recipe a shot - I hope you enjoy it. Please excuse my less than professional photo - my camera got destroyed by sand in the lens a few years back whilst on holiday in Crete and I never bothered to replace it. I'm still working out how to get the best out of my S7's built in camera...

... and the rest of my life ;-)

* Pork Meatballs with Chipotle Tomato Sauce

I am currently going through yet another "use up everything in the freezers" phase. It's only going to last long enough for me to make enough room to stuff more stuff in them... and also long enough to discover a million different ways to cook pork mince - I have a crap ton of the stuff... of course, I didn't know this when I started this phase. If I had, I might still be endeavouring to cram everything into my freezers with a shoe horn. There's only so much pork mince a person can eat before they start oinking.

Or before one's husband begins to roll his eyes and ask... "Pork mince again??? Have we started a pig farm and this is your way of telling me?"

"No - but if you'd like to take over the cooking from now on.....?"

"Nothat'sokay."

"Thought so. Have another meatball... we have a freezer full of them."

We don't... but for the sake of winding him up, I just can't resist.

So... as you can see... I made these Pork Meatballs with Chipotle Tomato Sauce. They're  rich and spicy and busting with flavour and are also fairly easy on the calories.... yes... I am still dieting, or rather - since my last post I sort of, kind of, might have... eaten my own body weight in chocolate (again)... and decided I should probably start making an effort to ensure that I only ever require one seat on an aeroplane...

... to house my bum...

* Slow Cooker Turkey and Chorizo Chilli

Over the Christmas holidays I went to my oldest BFF - Kerry's house, for dinner. It was just the two us (tres romantic) and we stuffed ourselves stoopid on her slow cooker beef chilli, cheesy nachos, all the trimmings and cheesecake. Kerry knows how to entertain when it comes to food. If she'd come to me she'd have had a bowl of chilli and rice placed in front of her, with a fork... and possibly some cheese. I may even have grated it in advance.

Her chilli was *to die for*, and though she has promised me the recipe - a bit like the cheesecake recipe of yore - she has yet to come up with the goodies (this is a not-so-subtle hint). The only thing she 'fessed up to was the use of chorizo sausage and a can of mixed beans.

After waiting very patiently - possibly a day, maybe two - for the recipe... I decided to create my own Slow Cooker Turkey and Chorizo Chilli recipe, that was inspired by Kerry's flavours but different enough that when I'm old and gray and wrinkly and she finally gives me the recipe for hers (laying it on super thick here)... that I can add it to Abbe's Cooking Antics. 

I've used chickpeas in this recipe, in place of beans and turkey instead of beef - partly because it felt right and partly because I could. It really is one of my best slow cooker recipes yet, right up there with the Moroccan Lamb Tagine and the Mexican Meatballs.

But you really should judge for yourselves... which is code for "Cook it, you'll love me".

You really will.

* Spicy Mexican Cheddar Scones

I bought some Spicy Mexican Cheddar a few days back, with the the full intention of grating it over the top of some enchiladas and somehow... I forgot.

It's hardly a surprise, considering the fact that firstly.. well.. I'm me.. and secondly - I have a variety of cheese on the go at all times, and I can never use it up quickly enough. Currently I have Gouda, Soft Goats Cheese, Feta, Parmesan, Mozzarella, Mascarpone, Full fat Cheddar, Half fat Cheddar... uuummmm... Philadelphia Light with Grilled Peppers... and a chunk of Gruyere.

I don't know why I have all of this cheese. I don't know why I have to have all of this cheese. I just know that if I see cheese... I buy cheese. Unless I have that cheese already, in which case I pick it up and put it down a billion times, trying to convince myself that I really don't need this cheese. Doesn't always work though.

I no longer have any Spicy Mexican Cheddar Cheese left, because I used it up in these scones. They were lush, straight from the oven, cracked open and spread with four inches of the buttery stuff. I'd made another batch of Broccoli Cheddar Soup (I bought a cr@p ton of broccoli) and they were lovely dipped in that.

Looking at that list of cheeses - I have no idea why I bought the Feta. I don't even like Feta.

However... there are tongue marks in the Mascarpone. 

They're mine.

* Slow Cooker Chicken with Chorizo

I'm not a fan of meat on the bone, any meat... but most especially chicken. I want to eat my food, not play with it, struggle with it or get covered in it - so it's incredibly rare that I buy a whole chicken or jointed chicken. I mostly buy chicken breasts, and although they are convenient - they aren't where the flavour is. The flavour is all in the meat that's wrapped around the bones.

If I buy chicken thighs (I never buy drum sticks), I de-bone them before I use them. Which can be a royal pain in the backside.... so... my slow cooker has been amazing to use when it comes to chicken thigh recipes. When cooked, the meat just melts off the bone - no muss, no fuss - and I end up with a delicious dinner, that was easy to throw together, easy to throw on a plate... and easy to throw down my throat.

This Slow Cooker Chicken with Chorizo is one such recipe that I've just adapted (yet again) from The Slow Cook Book by Heather Whinney.  I can honestly say I have not yet had all of the ingredients to make any of her recipes, off the bat. But they are so easily alterable that the book has to be amongst my top ten cook book purchases for this year... and there have been a few.

This freezes beautifully, especially if you pull the meat from the bone before hand, and goes with everything from Celeriac and Potato Mash to Chicken Flavoured Rice... or even couscous. I can't be bothered to cook tonight, so we're having it again (from the freezer) with Jacket Potatoes and some cheesy garlic bread.

I'm incredibly good at being lazy.

* Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup {Meatless Mondays} + "Eggs" Winner

I have another new favourite soup, and it's this one. This Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup is getting it's own bank account, it's so good.

Really. Even Neil enjoyed it, and he doesn't like broccoli.

I probably wouldn't have offered him a bowl of it, if he hadn't asked what smelled so good when it was bubbling away on the stove. When I told him what it was, he said he wouldn't mind trying some.

So when it was cooked, I pushed the spoon into his face with a whole "Choo-choo here comes the food train." pantomime, to which he responded with "Please don't ever do that again." and "I'll eat that." A huuuuuuge compliment from my man of few words.

Neither of us are fans of soups that use flour as a thickener (though I do make them), so I used a carrot to thicken this soup, and to add a slightly golden colour - which makes this a gluten free soup. Also, this recipe uses the whole broccoli - both florets and stems.

I'm now trying to think of more ways to get him to eat broccoli because I love it, and it's far easier to cook one meal for both of us than two separate ones. Though this doesn't happen too often because although he's a man of simple tastes - Neil will try virtually anything (that isn't a flapjack), that I put in front of him.

It's that or starve.

Now it's time to announce the winner of the Michel Roux "Eggs" Cook Book Give Away from last Monday.... drum roll please...

and... the winner iiiiiiissssss.....

Katrina Pearce (comment number 2) - congratulation Katrina, your book is on it's way!

Thanks to everyone who entered xx

* Slow Cooker Beef and Bean Hotpot

On Sunday we decided to steal a march on the Christmas shoppers and not go Christmas shopping at all. Read it again. It makes complete sense.

Instead, we decided to see if we could hunt down the perfect flooring for our bedroom - which we are in the midst of decorating - from a wood floor specialists in town.

I didn't want to have to muck about sorting a dinner out when we got home, so for the very first time I loaded up the slow cooker and... left the house...

... I never, ever, do this. Not with anything. Not the dishwasher, not the washing machine, the dryer...  nothing. Stuff happens when I'm not in the house. Things flood, break, block up, fall over, fall off, seize up, singe... leaving the slow cooker on was a real risk. REAL. RISK. I walked super fast through town to get to the shop, ran around the shop dismissing all but one type of flooring, asked for a sample and was handed a whole plank of wood... a whole plank of wood... who does that?!?... then literally ran through the high street home, leaving the plank of wood in a passing bin because it was just too random, even for me.

When I fell in the back door a couple of hours after I'd left.. with Neil following at a leisurely "What is wrong with you, woman?" pace behind me... my Slow Cooker Beef and Bean Hotpot was very gently bubbling away, minding it's own business. The dog was guarding the floor space directly in front of the kitchen counter that it was sitting on - just in case it happened to explode and leave the kitchen covered in minced beef and vegetables - ready to perform clean up duty... and the cat was sitting on the shed roof wondering where we'd been and what was all the fuss about?

Our flooring hunt might have been a dead bust, but dinner certainly wasn't.

The poor dog was disappointed, yet again.

This recipe is linked up on Foodie Friday at Simple Living and Eating, so please pop over and see what other wonderful recipes you can find!

* Winter Minestrone

This is my absolute new favourite soup.

I know I shouldn't favour one recipe over any other... they are all my babies (kinda), but this one would get more pocket money than the others, for definite. I wish I could claim it as all my own idea with a touch of aren't I a complete genius thrown in, just to keep everything on the me, me, me.... but this Winter Minestrone Recipe is one I adapted from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa - to suit my own cooking style and recipe ingredients.

In otherwords, I made it as easy and lazy as possible. I really can't be bothered to cook pasta separately (as per Ina's recipe) then throw it in the pot when it's cooked - it cooks just as easily in the soup itself, as it does in a pot of boiling water - and there's less washing up to do. Win win.

I know it's on a Monday that I'm posting this, but it's NOT a Meatless Monday Recipe - it has bacon in it and chicken stock. I'm still no good at planning ahead when it comes to bandwagons I could jump upon. The fact that I've managed a few Meatless Mondays posts in recent months is pure coincidence and nothing to do with planning whatsover - I don't cook for my blog as much as I cook for me and Neil... especially in the cold, dark months at the end of one year and beginning of the next, because I have a hard time taking decent photographs in the light.

Which leads me to a favour I need to ask - Neil has mentioned buying me a decent digital camera for Christmas (I currently have a little point and shoot) and I was wondering what any of you might suggest I should look at? Our budget would be in the region of £300 (just under 500 American dollars). Any advice would be truly appreciated!

Thanks guys xx

* Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

I made these Chocolate Zucchini Brownies three times before I felt they were good enough to share... with real touchable people as well as all of you!

Usually, it seems to take me longer to photograph and blog a recipe, than it does to actually make it - not this time, however... I made these brownies three times before I finally got them right!

The first time I made them, I squeezed all of the water out of the zucchini and they were a tad cake-like in consistency. Nice, but not dense and chewy enough to be called a brownie.

The second time I made them in a 20cm x 20cm square cake tin and only used 50g/2oz of chocolate chips, but I didn't squeeze the water out of the zucchini.... they were really good and completely shareable but I forgot to take photographs.... because we ate them a tad quickly.

Just a tad.

The third time I used a 27cm x 17cm baking pan, didn't squeeze the water out of the zucchini and added 100g/4oz of chocolate chips.... and remembered to photograph them before we ate them... barely. They were awesome - dense, chewy, chocolatey, nommy bars of heaven.

The best compliment in the world was when my friend Lynne's daughter - Deryn - ate five of them before we could get the lid back on the tin they'd been served in. I sat there in awe and delight. Finally, someone with an even bigger capacity for sweet things, than I.

But only just.

* Sausage Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

I love it when a recipe works better than expected. These Sausage Meatballs in Tomato Sauce were absolutely scrumptious in a non *in yer face* way. They were so easy to put together that I expected to be bowled over with blandness.... plus I haven't had much in the way of taste in the past couple of weeks because of my VERY BAD COLD.

There.

I will never mention it again.

The sauce was slightly sweet and light due to the use of a carrot. I've not done that before, but they needed using up (doesn't everything?!?) and it was worth a shot. I know it's not a new idea - people have been sticking carrots into tomato sauce since time immemorial (whatever that means), but I haven't - so I wasn't sure that we... I... would like it.

But we did. Well, of course we did. I could hardly write a recipe up and say "Don't do this, it's dis-GUS-tin'!", could I?!?

Well I suppose I could, but then you'd hardly come back for more.

* Mexican Cornbread Muffins {Meatless Mondays}

I absolutely LOVE cornbread, but Neil isn't usually a huge fan. Possibly because most of the time I use a medium grain polenta to make it, and he finds it a tad too gnarly. In which case I usually end up eating the whole lot - not in one sitting... but it's too close to call.

I managed to get hold of some fine polenta in Tesco's the other day, and seeing as I'm always trying to conquer my oven's urge to C-4 small cakes and muffins - I thought I'd have a go at making mini cornbreads... because I am determined to win this particular battle (with the oven) and selling Neil a Mexican Cornbread Muffin was going to be a damn sight easier than saying "I made cornbread". 

I was keeping my fingers crossed that he wouldn't connect the dots.

He didn't. Or maybe he did and decided to play along. He does that A LOT. It's part of his charm.

"Oooh look what my mum bought me!"

"Your mum bought you a new desktop for £600?"

"Ummm... yes?"

"With our debit card?"

"Ummmmmm...mmm... yessss???"

....... "That was nice of her."

What's not to love?!?!!!

He actually enjoyed the muffin that I let him taste test, warm from the oven. I taste tested two. One of them was eaten very quietly in the kitchen, away from all eyes but the dog's. Her eyes said "If you don't give me some of that I'm telling." 

So I shared.

* Lamb Stew with Rosemary Dumplings

It's taken me about a year to get round to cooking this Lamb Stew with Rosemary Dumplings recipe for Neil. He spotted something similar on "Lorraine" one morning, when he didn't have to leave for work until a bit later than normal and was watching what the chef of the weeks was cooking - and he said "I'd eat that".

He's been waiting expectantly ever since.

Or so I thought.

I was finally feeling a bit better yesterday (I've had a bad cold - there was self pity and everything) and had remembered to get the lamb out of the freezer but forgotten what for, when I had a light bulb moment and remembered the stew recipe from a year ago. Sort of.

So. I slaved over a hot stove. SLAVED I tell you. Stopping only to blow my nose, cough, sneeze (and occasionally fart) out of the back door in a bid to not spread my happy.

At dinner time I did a whole "Ta-Daaaaaahhh" thing. Big reveal. Aren't you a lucky blokey Neil. Aren't I super duper wifey even though I'm very, very poorly. Look what I made you.

"What is it?"

"Lamb Stew with Rosemary Dumplings - it's a bit similar to that recipe you saw on Lorraine, about a year ago."

"What recipe?"

Hummpfff... "The one where you said "I'd eat that" ".

"I say that to everything."

Deep breaths. Don't kill him.

"Right... Eat your dinner. When you're done you can say "Thank you darling, that was delicious. How thoughtful that you cooked such a lovely meal for me when you were feeling like a pile of poo." !"

He grinned at me, cleared his plate and said "Lovely darlin' ".

That's his version of a cartwheel.

* Easy Cheesy Bubble and Squeak

I need to make more food with Easy Cheesy in the title. I like that title. I like anything even vaguely childish at the moment because I've got a rotten cold, which seems to go hand in hand with a more juvenile sense of humour.... my dreams are pretty freaky too - in a fun way!!! You are so rude!

I dreamt I had magic, the other night (stop groaning, you knew this is where I was heading), and that I was the most powerful magician/sorcerer in the entire world but I hadn't been challenged and therefore didn't know how powerful I was - then the dream jumped a little bit to me saving a load of people by letting them in my front door (apparently this dream could not afford much in the way of special effects)... then this *being* appeared in the sky - now don't laugh - it was Adam Ant. Moving swiftly on... I yelled out of my half open front door (that I was hiding behind - magicians get scared too apparently) at the Adam Ant cloud in the sky..."You don't want to take me on..." then imbued the last two words with a huge majestic power reminiscent of Charlton Heston in various movies "DOOOO YOOOOU?"....

Thing is.... I BOOMED the last two words out loud. In my sleep. As the Adam Ant cloud dissipated into vapour  - I heard a voice beside me snigger and say "Well I suppose this is going to be as interesting as "I'm a giraffe"...".

*sigh*

I'd woken Neil up.

12 hours later when he walked in the back door after work...

... he was still sniggering.

NOTE: There is no one real recipe for bubble and squeak - it's traditionally made up of left over vegetables from a Sunday Roast, all mashed together and fried in a pan on the stove in butter. Sometimes as a mash up, sometimes as a large cake and sometimes as patties. I find a general rule of thumb to follow is whatever weight of potatoes you use, use half that weight of vegetables (or thereabouts) - also, if you do happen to have creamed the mash together with butter and/or milk - you're best bet is to make a mash up and fry it as is, as the wetter the bubble and squeak mix, the less likely that it will be able to hold its shape and make decent patties (or cakes). Dry frying (no fat) also helps the patties to keep their shape and not take on extra moisture and become sloppy (but that might be just me!).

* Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins {Nigella Lawson}

The last time I tried to make anything resembling a chocolate muffin or cupcake, it all went volcanically wrong - I think it's because I use my fan oven for just about everything, and it's really not suited to baking smaller cakes, at all. It either dries them out or blows them up.

There is a chance that it's actually a non intelligent life form that is making attempts at nuclear fusion via cake batter.

Well I've finally used my noggin and removed it's funding (stopped using it for little cakes, ya follow?) and I used my conventional oven instead to cook these Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins from a Nigella Lawson recipe.

It worked.

It worked so well that I got too excited to wait to photograph these babies and the chocolate-chips on the top were still a bit hot and shiny. I absolutely promise that I did not lick the top of every single muffin to create a shiny effect.

Though the temptation was certainly there.

* Beef and Bell Pepper Goulash

Beef Goulash is the ideal food for the weather that we're having at the moment. It's not quite as heavy as a stew, but it's hearty, sweetly spicy and warming with a bowl of rice to soak up the juices.

This isn't a quick recipe, but more a slow burner - though still very easy to throw together and walk away from while it cooks.

After the lovely summer that we've had - it's almost inevitable that my welly boots now need their own welly boots. It isn't just raining - it's pouring.

The dog is speed pee-ing whenever she has to "go tinkles", to get it over and done with as quickly as possible and I wouldn't be surprised to walk into the kitchen at some point and find her with just her backside hanging out of the dog flap while she does her business. She never used to mind the rain, but as she's grown older she doesn't tolerate any level of discomfort well.

I sympathise completely.

I really don't like the discomfort of being hungry - which would probably explain the size of my bum. This 5:2 diet I'm on is making even cat food smell appetising when I catch a whiff of it as I trundle past the cats bowl on my way to the tap for a filling glass of water.

And toothpaste.

Toothpaste smells like gourmet fare.

I really need to go lick something.

* Cheesy Leek and Red Onion Toasties {Meatless Mondays}

Guess what I've been doing!?! Go on... just a little guess...

No. I have not been para-gliding.

Try again...

Haven't dyed my hair green either...

Do you give in?

Weelllllllllll... I've been "fasting"... which is why it's been a bit quiet around here this past week.

I started the 5:2 diet/way of eating on Thursday, in a bid to shift some weight and get a bit healthier because I don't reckon this body wants to be hefting this bum around in another 10 years.... and so far so good (the diet). I fasted on Thursday and Saturday and managed with little problem to stick to 500 calories on both days because I knew I could eat normally for the rest of the week.

I'm not gonna bang on about it, other than to say that it's given me a bit to think about from the perspective of what I really want to eat on the 5 days when I'm not fasting. I feel as though I have to have food that I Treally Rooly want, rather than just whatever happens to be available at the time - which means I may have to actually get organised... yeah, I know... nnnnot gonna happen.

I may not have been eating a lot of food, but I've certainly been thinking about it and trawling through my recipe books has actually helped a little - strange but true.

This Cheesy Leek and Red Onion Toasties recipe is a version of one I found in my River Cottage Veg Everyday book. It looked so damn nommy that I swear I left a puddle of drool on the photographs... I may even have chewed the page slightly...

... which might explain why I wasn't particularly hungry on that particular "fast day". Mmmmm.

Anyone know how many calories there are in paper?!?

* Creamy Chicken and Tomato Pasta Bake

I'm becoming the "Queen of Hate Food Waste" just recently, with all the food I'm managing to use up. I think it makes me just slightly more inventive when I cook based on need rather than on want.

I'll try to explain....

I occasionally buy ingredients to cook for a specific recipe that either I have come up with, or I've found whilst trawling through various cook books or across the interwebz. It's really satisfying to cook from a recipe, but I often have half a jar of this or half a tub of that left over when I'm done - because I mostly use fresh ingredients when cooking. I then get left with an ingredient or three that has a shelf life.... like spinach, creme fraiche, harissa paste, cream cheese (never, ever do I have chocolate anything left over... ever) - to name but a few. If you're a repeat reader you already know about the spinach and the creme fraiche - if you're not a repeat reader - go do your homework... links have been supplied!

This Creamy Chicken and Tomato Pasta Bake made use of some cooked left over chicken and the remnants of a tub of Philadelphia, and I honestly don't think I'd have come up with it if Melanie Jean on my facebook page hadn't made a request for a chicken and tomato pasta dish with no basil and only a little garlic. I was just gonna bung the chicken in a sandwich for Neil and eat some cream cheese on crumpets until both were gone. Not overly inventive, eh?

This was one of those meals that you could cut the time in half by simply not baking it in the oven, just dish it out straight from the pot if you're in a hurry and grate some cheese over the top. I baked mine because I had the time.

It was nommy.... and there were left overs.... 

... Be still my beating heart ;-)

* Traditional Brownie {Hummingbird Bakery}

Finally - a traditional brownie recipe that I didn't muller first time around...

Every cook, everywhere, no matter their expertise (I'm not claiming any here, just go with the flow till I'm done )... has something that they either can't cook or aren't very good at instinctively.

For me, it used to be pastry - however... I've mentioned in other posts that I am now a pastry goddess (of at least two types of pastry... two types)... Shut up. I can hear your "Yeah. Right." sarcasm from here. I can do my own. Thankyou. Sarcasm AND pastry. In. Your. Face...

Now that I have conquered one battle, won one war (stay with me), it would seem that I have had another one on my hands. Brownies. I'm crap at 'em.

NOT ANY MORE. Bolded and underlined baby.

Okay. I've had one iddy biddy true success, but you can't take that away from me. Look at 'em. They are perfectly papery on the top and squidgily soft in the middle and it's like you've died and gone to heaven when you stuff three of them in your face all at once.

Not that I did that. Okay... I might have done that. It all happened so fast I'm not quite sure what happened - but one minute there were 12 brownies and the next... weeellllll... there were less than 10... and I was chewing on something chocolatey. Maybe.

According to my Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook - traditional brownies must be chewy, chocolatey and dense - and these were all three. I think maybe the fact that I used my conventional oven to cook them, rather than my fan oven - meant that they didn't dry out and lose that essential squidgy factor. So I'll be doing that again.

And soon.